Informatics Publishing Limited

Ram S. Verma ¹, Rajendra C. Padalia ¹, Sajendra K. Verma ¹, Amit Chauhan ¹, Mahendra P. Darokar ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Natural Product Chemistry, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Research Centre Pantnagar, P.O. Dairy Farm Nagla, Udham Singh Nagar 263 149, IN
2 Molecular Bioprospection Department, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, P.O. CIMAP, Lucknow 226 015, IN

Abstract

Cannabis sativa L. (family Cannabaceae) is a medicinal and aromatic plant growing all over the world. The present study aims to investigate the essential oil composition and antimicrobial activity of C. sativa from the foothills of northern India. The hydrodistilled essential oil of C. sativa was studied by capillary gas chromatography/flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and evaluated against nine pathogenic bacterial strains using disc diffusion assay. A total of 57 constituents representing 90.5-93.1% of the total oil compositions were identified. Major constituents of the essential oil were (E)-caryophyllene (19.6-26.1%), limonene (4.1-15.8%), caryophyllene oxide (2.0-10.7%), (E)-β -farnesene (4.8-8.5%), α-humulene (5.4-7.8%), β-pinene (0.7-7.7%), myrcene (0.8-6.0%), terpinolene (0.2-6.0%) and β -selinene (1.8-5.4%). The oil showed moderate to good activity against most of the tested Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC2940), Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC96) and Streptococcus mutans). The oil also showed moderate activity against a Gram-negative bacterium, Salmonella typhimurium. The chemical composition of the examined C. sativa essential oil was quite different from earlier reported compositions. The oil possessed moderate to good activity against most of the tested bacterial strains.

Keywords

Antibacterial Activity, Cannabis Sativa, Essential Oil Composition, Non-narcotic Applications.

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Ram S. Verma ¹, Rajendra C. Padalia ¹, Amit Chauhan ¹, Prakash Goswami ¹, Ved R. Singh ¹

Affiliations
1 CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Research Centre, Pantnagar 263 149, IN

Abstract

Plants which grow in unwanted areas or in permanently human-disturbed habitats, but do not depend on human intervention for their reproduction and survival are called weeds. Some of these weeds, usually invasive in nature, are seen to have adverse effects on agricultural and natural ecosystems.

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